Cave Mountain & Camel Peak

By Denis & Sandi Inman

On our final day of rides, we were down to Sandi & me, Gary & Nancy, Paul & Doris and Clark as the others had gone on to their next Summer destination. For our first run of the day, we headed South on Highway 93/50 to highway 486, turned East and aired down at the turnout for the dam just inside Cave Lake State Park. We drove past the ranger station and continued on National Forest Road 574 along Cave Creek.

Eventually, we reached the top of Cave Mountain at 10,735′. The view was magnificent. Looking Southeast, we could see 13,065′ Wheeler Peak, the second-highest summit in Nevada. On the way back down, the group took a side trail to see Abbey Cabin that appears to have been an old TV repeater station. Before we reentered the park on our descent, we found a wide spot near Cave Creek Spring with trees so we could choose between sitting in the sun or the shade.

After passing the ranger station again, our foursome of Jeeps turned North on Highway 486 also known as White Pine County Road 29 and drove up the switchbacks to Success Summit where we turned West on NF-423. We followed that to an unnamed trail to take a challenging climb to reach the summit of an unknown peak at 10,298′. It’s somewhat odd that the anonymous mountain we climbed is taller than nearby Camel Peak along the same ridge that is only 10,059′.

By now it was getting late, so instead of completing the popular Success Loop, we drove back down to Cave Lake and returned to our lodgings in Ely from there. It was a great week with lots of scenic trails and good friends to share them with. I personally can’t wait until next years PV4W Ely run. Thanks to everyone who participated, especially Paul & Doris who took over managing the event at the last minute and James & Helen who led the first couple days of awesome runs.